A look at music that was rock, pop, and radio of the 1980's, with takes on the greatest, the worst, the underappreciated, and the burned. It's a deep dive into the retro greatness of the decade, at the intersection where rock music, pop music, power pop, guitars, drums, memorable tunes, and guilty pleasures come together. Longtime radio rock DJ and music writer Rob Nichols hosts, along with his artist and writer friends, to dig into the music.
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One week from the summer of 1985. Top 40 radio, pulling ballads, pop-rock tunes, and a surprising amount of new wave-ish music, plus a couple of straight-up rockers. We listen to what was on your hit music radio station on July 6, 1985, and play the songs that were at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Do we like them all? No way. Are there some surprises? Yes. A perfect little summer…
In his career with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - a group in the conversation for "Who is the greatest American rock and roll band ever?" - guitarist Mike Campbell's rare lead vocal was on a track called "I Don't Wanna Fight" from Echo. Other than that, Campbell did a whole bunch of other-than-lead-vocal work to help make the band, recordings, and live show sound the way they did for 40 years.…
Alt-Country. Americana. The line that led to The Bottle Rockets. Gram Parsons to Crazy Horse to Skynyrd to Jason and the Scorchers to Uncle Tupelo and a whole lot of Seger/Petty in between. A show loosely finding that line and hearing the rock and roll and country of it. The Bottle Rockets. Loud and acoustic. Electric and smart. And greasy and Midwest gritty. Let's go.
Peter Frampton has a new album, "Carry The Light," and a career that is weirdly misunderstood. We listen to the new album - a first listen - and talk about his legacy - deserved or not. Hear some rock tunes. Get out a talkbox and remember 1976, plus what came before that (Humble Pie), and after, to get to a new album in 2026. Is it any good? We decide.
Two things that drive me batshit crazy with radio stations and the way they present their versions of rock and roll: 1. The same four songs from every artist, played over and over and over and... 2. The loss of discovery and creativity. You don't listen to the radio anymore? Got it. Me neither. At least not in the traditional, find-the-station-on-the-radio way. I do, however, listen to terrestrial…
They’ve been fired from tours for speaking their mind, they’ve broken up more times than a high school couple, and yet, they remain as the band that still carries the flag for 70s-inspired blues-rock. Stones-rock. Faces-rock. And they have stayed around long enough to inspire new bands to keep doing the old rock thing. Their sound blasts back to 1972. The Black Crowes’ debut album was a crunch of…
Steve Earle is rock and roll, he is country, and Earle has deep roots in early Americana all the way back to Guy Clarke, Townes Van Zandt, and Rodney Crowell, among many. A songwriter first, I found him with his "Guitar Town" release back in 1986. Listened to the second album, the Springsteen-esque "Exit 0", a lot, and when 1988's "Copperhead Road" album came out, we turned it up loud. With this…
Classic rock and roll bands and artists releasing new music? What's the point? Is it worth a listen? Do we discount some excellent rock from these bands just because it's not 1987? Or is it a shell of their sound and original fire? Def Leppard has a new song, in conjunction with a run at the Sphere in Las Vegas. We take a first listen. Then we look at the past 12 months of rock and roll releases…
The thumping, pumping, Telecaster-driven, snare-smashing roots rock and roll of the 80's (and into the 90's) shaped my world. Drove my inspiration for finding more of "that". Looking back, some of "that" lasted. And some of the bands and their songs went into the vault of lost rockers, and some even made it out to rock some more. This podcast jumps back about 10 years to when I was digging into…
As we enter 2026, we dedicate a podcast episode to remembering the rock and roll artists (and some pop music icons, too) who passed away in 2025. We remember some of the greats and the overlooked individuals who made an impact on music - and RockPopandRoll, particularly in rock music. From Ozzy to Sly to the architect of bubble gum music, we remember and listen to some of the great music they…
